


One Step At The Time

by orphan_account



Category: Bleach, EXO (Band)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-10
Updated: 2017-09-10
Packaged: 2018-12-25 22:26:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,497
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12045570
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Zhang Yixing gets promoted to a Vice Captain.





	One Step At The Time

**Author's Note:**

> honestly i had so much fun writing this?? i know there aren't any bleach characters (or other exo members other than junmyeon lol) BUT i didn't say anything about the 7th squad so the captain could be komamura sajin or iba tetsuzaemon or an exo member or literally fuckin anyone cuz i couldn't pick. this is 100% self indulgent i feel no shame lmao also its almost 5am so there are probably some mistakes k have fun byeeee

"Zhang Yixing, 3rd seat of the 7th Squad, has just been promoted to the position of Vice Captain of the 6th Squad! Congratulations," Vice Captain Kim spoke formally, with a frown on his face that indicated concentration. Then he, as if he took off a mask, looked up to Yixing and smiled one of his well known angelic smiles. He had quite a reputation in the Seireitei.

"How does it feel, fellow Vice Captain?" he asked Yixing jokingly. Yixing was still a bit shocked; there were rumors that the 6th Squad Captain, Captain Byun, wanted him as his Vice Captain for a while, but Yixing was sure that he would end up picking someone else. There were lots of people who were far more capable than him, so why Yixing?

"It feels amazing, I just can't believe that Captain Byun would pick someone like me," Yixing said. He thought his answer made sense, so he was a bit confused when Vice Captain Kim frowned.

"Why wouldn't he pick someone like you? You always do paperwork, you're strong, you do great when you're on missions, you know how to act around your subordinates, and so on," Vice Captain Kim explained.

They were sitting on the floor across each other, turkish style. Their zanpakutos were leaning against the wall, almost begging to be picked up again. Yixing scratched his neck and looked to his left, before answering:

"Well, Vice Captain Kim, I just don't think I'm as good as you think I am."

"Well, Captain Byun seems to agree with me, and I'm sure the rest of 6th will too."

"Do you really think that," Yixing asked in surprise, his eyebrows shooting up, "Why are you so sure that the 6th Squad will like me?"

"Because the rumors about Captain Byun wanting you in his division came right from the 6th Squad", he pointed out, "They were pretty happy about it, you know."

He stood up, making Yixing also quickly scramble to his feet, and picked up his zanpakuto. 

"Thank you, Vice Captain," Yixing expressed his gratitude. He hoped Vice Captain of the 13th Squad knew how much his support meant to him. Junmyeon was about to say his goodbyes and leave, so he just cast Yixing a quick glance over his shoulder. 

"It's Junmyeon now," he corrected Yixing and smiled. He just waved before he left, leaving Yixing standing alone in the middle of the room.

"Thank you, Junmyeon," Yixing whispered and smiled faintly. 

*

Usually, there's a 20 day period before appointed Vice Captains actually start working as Vice Captains. And, of course, Yixing was no exception. However, he feels like those 20 days barely lasted five days. Today was the day he officially started working as a Vice Captain, and he couldn't be more nervous.

"This is it," Yixing thought and exhaled shakily before he knocked on the door. Apparently, Captain's and Vice Captain's offices were joined together, which didn't help his anxiety at all.

"Yeah? Come in," he heard Captain Byun's voice. He grabbed the door knob and slowly opened the wooden door.

"It's me, Captain," Yixing said in a way that some people might've mistaken as monotone, however, Yixing's emotions were far from "monotone".

"Oh! Vice Captain Zhang! Welcome," Captain Byun immediately stood up to greet him. He seemed rather lively today; he must be in a good mood. 

Captain Byun Baekhyun wore the normal shinigami uniform, but the white captain's robe he had on that almost covered his whole hands implied that he was everything but normal. He also had glasses on that now stood low on his nose, so Yixing guessed that he was far-sighted. When Yixing looked down, he noticed that his Captain was completely barefoot, which confused him, but he remained silent.

"Good morning, Captain," Yixing said. Captain Byun was about to walk up to him, but he quickly turned around, as if looking for something. Then, his face lit up a bit, as he put his footwear on.

"Yeah, yeah," Captain Byun said, somehow managing to sound disinterested and excited at the same time. How? Yixing had no idea. "I'm gonna show you outside a bit so you can meet our subordinates, and then the office because there isn't much I need to show you here. Alright?"

"Alright," Yixing answered. He was surprised; he hadn't expected this at all. He knew Captain Byun isn't a serious Captain like some other Captains are. The pranks Captain Kim Jongdae and he pull on other shinigami are rather well-known in the Seireitei. It's just that Yixing didn't think Captain Byun would get so relaxed in such a short period of time; Captain Kim Jongdae and he were childhood friends, so that's reasonable, but Yixing and he barely met a couple of times before. He expected a couple of jokes here and there, but not this.

"By the way," Captain Byun informed, "the Vice Captain arm thingy is on your desk."

Yixing looked at the desk next to him, and the Vice Captain arm band was there, so he grabbed it and put it around his left arm. He always thought that they were made of metal, but it turns out they were made of wood.

"Let's go!" Baekhyun opened the door and was about to leave, but he realized that he underestimated Yixing's lack of enthusiasm.

"But what about the paperwork?"

"It's not lack of enthusiasm, it's lack of recklessness, Baekhyun thought, "That's a good thing considering the stuff I do sometimes.,"

"It can wait. Besides, a certain Captain told me that you were super quick at it, and I don't think they have any reason to lie" Baekhyun glanced at Yixing over his shoulders to see his reaction, and man, does that boy need to relax. 

"Let's go then!" Yixing put on a mask of determination to hide his nervousness, a mask Baekhyun saw right through. He could just let it go and show Yixing around so he'd relax a bit, but Baekhyun wouldn't be Baekhyun if he did that. 

Instead, he decided to be a little shit he, frankly, is.

"Or maybe you were so bad at it that he just had to kick you out of the seventh as soon as possible. Who knows these days? The Gotei 13 isn't what it used to be," Baekhyun said in a tone that personifies the word "teasing", however, Yixing appears to be a bit aloof from social cues.

"Captain! I'm not bad, I think! I mean, Vice Captain Kim- I mean Junmyeon-"

"Vice Captain Zhang, if I wasn't 100% assured that you were perfect for this position, I would've not picked you," Baekhyun interrupted Yixing's incoherent sentence in a serious manner. He dislikes taking jokes too far and he absolutely loathes insecure subordinates, so he would definitely have to do something about that.

"Let's go already!" Baekhyun's happy tone finally made a comeback as he pulled Yixing outside.

*

The day went by in a blur. Yixing went from feeling nervous, uneasy and restless in the morning to feeling at ease in the evening as he walked next to his new Captain and watched the sunset.

The sight was marvelous. The sky reminded Yixing of a painting; the beautiful way red, orange, and yellow mixed together was nothing short of a masterpiece only an artist could create. He thought he must've looked very stupid, strolling around the Seireitei with head up staring at the sky, but surprisingly, he couldn't bring himself to care. However, nice things don't last long, and Yixing proved that by accidentally looking at the sun and having to immediately shut his eyes. This didn't go unnoticed by Captain Byun, his snort an indication of his amusement, but surprisingly, he stayed quiet. Today is full of surprises, isn't it?

"Captain Byun," Yixing broke the silence in a pleasant manner, "Why me?"

"Why not you?"

"I'm flattered, but I still don't understand why you picked me out of everyone."

"It's because you have something others don't," Baekhyun said as if that explained everything. They were still roaming around, enjoying each other's presence, the beautiful sight the sky has bestowed upon them, and the pleasant breeze.

"What exactly do I have that others don't, Captain?

"Kindness."

"Kindness?"

"Kindness. You're different, Yixing. Everyone here is constantly practicing, getting stronger, trying to avenge their friends and family, and it's just so loud and overwhelming and there's so much bloodlust and hatred and then there's you, Yixing. Over the many decades I've been a Captain, I've learned to appreciate kindness more than anything else. Everyone can be strong, but rare are the people who are truly kind like you are, Yixing. Do you understand me?"

"Captain..."

"You're one of a kind, Yixing. You're not perfect yourself, but you're perfect for a position of a Vice Captain. You're still young. We've still got to turn that shikai into bankai and that Vice Captain's armband into a Captain's haori, but it's okay. One step at the time."


End file.
